


Stay With Me

by Azerec



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Rock Band, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-06-29 17:47:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19835395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azerec/pseuds/Azerec
Summary: (Fic title is taken from the song of the same name by The Dictators, an early punk band from NYC)This is my contribution to the Reverse Big Bang! Sorry it is late, I was very sick and unable to finish. This is a rock band AU set in the time period from the manga. It is based off of the excellent artwork of Lazenbyphoenix.





	Stay With Me

His view of the crowd was hazy. Sweat polluted his eyes. Brushing a sticky clump of blonde hair out of his vision though, someone caught his eye. He was a young man- about seventeen or eighteen, wearing a colorful jacket and a tote bag across his shoulder.The singer couldn’t help but smirk a bit- the man with the looked out of place among the rest of the greasy punks in the audience. He has caught his eye though, and he couldn’t look away.

Ash Lynx. Lead singer and a guitarist for the band Banana Fish. They were an up-and-coming punk band from New York City. Ash was well known throughout New York’s underground music scene, despite barely being eighteen, he possessed incredible talent for his age. Talent in music, obviously, but he also possessed incredible survival skills. Everyone who had known Ash knew him as one of many troubled youths who stalked the dangerous city, homeless and fighting for survival like a wild animal. His feistiness had earned him the nickname of “Lynx”. Ash didn’t like to talk about his past, but he would sing about it occasionally; his lyrics painted a haunting tale of a boy overcoming an abusive and traumatic childhood that had forced him to go on the run. Currently, he had a place to stay- an old apartment building that he shared with the other band members. Shorter Wong, bassist, contributed the most to the rent and was happy to do so. Sing Soo-Ling, drummer, was the third member of the home. Max Lobo, their manager lived with them as well. There was a fifth at one point who played the role of the bands lead guitarist, but he had stormed out one sudden day after a violent falling out with Ash and the rest. The band hadn’t found a replacement guitarist yet. Cain Blood, a friend of Ashes and a fellow musician filled in for them most shows, but he had his own band to tend to so he rejected any offer for permanent membership. He was there tonight with the band.  
The show was over, but the strange new boy still clung to the side of the stage, his wide eyes fixated on the sweaty vocalist, who kept sneaking looks back at him. The audience thinned out as the band began packing up and loading- but he stayed there.   
“Hey…!”  
Tying up a microphone cord, Ash turned to the stranger. “Hey..” he returned, trying to appear distracted.  
“You guys were so good!” the stranger exclaimed. “My name is Eiji Okumura, I’m a student from Japan. This is the first American show that I’ve ever been to.”  
“What brings you to New York, Eiji?” asked Ash.   
“I’m with my friend, he’s a journalist. I am too, well, actually, I’m a journalism student. I’m also a pole-vaulter, but, um, I got injured so I came with my friend to America. Since I can’t participate in this season. I love this kind of punk music, so when I heard that my friend was coming to New York City, I had to join him!”  
“You like this kind of music?”  
“Yeah! Some music stores by where I live have started importing it. Haven’t seen Banana Fish yet.”  
“Well, we haven’t put out an actual album yet. Some bootlegs are floating’ around, but I don’t think they’ve made it out of the country yet.” Ash smiled. This guy was a real fan of this music, he could tell. Eiji Okumura. He kept repeating the name in his head.  
“Can I ask you some questions?” Eiji suddenly blurted. It caught Ash off guard. “Wh-why?” he asked. “For a school thing? For your friend?”  
“For...me” Eiji laughed. “I just find this whole scene interesting and I wanna know more. They don’t have bands or music like this around me at home.”  
“Oh. Alright then.” A large grin came to Ashes face, which confused him. Normally, Ash hated interviews and answering questions, especially about himself. Despite knowing him for literal minutes though, Ash felt comfortable enough around Eiji to let himself open up a bit.  
“Hey, cmon.” A head adorned with a wild purple mohawk poked through the curtain in back of the stage. “Let’s finish packin’ up all this shit so we can go home. Sing’s tired.”  
A muffled “I am not!” could be heard from behind the curtain.  
“Alright” sighed Ash in a playful manner. He looked at Eiji. “Go sit down at a table for a bit. I’ll talk to you in a few, I promise.” He hadn’t noticed that someone had crept up behind him.  
“Who’s this?” asked Shorter. Ash jumped and looked at the bassist, annoyed.  
“Eiji Okumura” said Eiji, extending his hand. “You guys were incredible tonight.”  
“Hey, thanks man.” Shorter said in return, shaking the boys hand. “You from here? Don’t think I’ve seen you around here. Nice camera, by the way? Take any good photos tonight.”  
“I did” Eiji beamed. “I-”  
“Ash here was made for the camera” teased Shorter, placing his hand on the blondes shoulder. He slapped Ashes chest with the other. “Get any good photos of his nice, bare chest?”  
Eijis face turned a pale red “Yeah…”. Ashes face was turning redder. “C'mon Shorter. I promised I’d tell him about the band once we finished packing up. Eiji, you can go sit now.”  
“Okay Ash!”

Ash finished packing up his things quickly, then sat down next to the new guy at a table. Shorter sat a few tables away from them, as he was Ashes ride, and he was interested in the quickly-growing chemistry between Ash and Eiji, as he had never seen the frontman warm up to a stranger in the time that he did with Eiji. The questions that Eiji asked ranged from musical ones, such as about his inspiration and influences, to frivoulous questions about Ashes daily life, like his favorite restaurants and things to do other than playing music. None of these questions bothered Ash and he was happy to respond; as the interview continued however, the questions grew deeper and more personal, and Ashes discomfort rose. Not wanting to be rude, or worse, scare off the boy, he just gave vague answers. One question, however, set the Lynx off.  
In a tone that reflected the feel-good mood of the night, Eiji had asked “So you guys are real rockstars, huh? Does that mean...do you guys...are you guys into...drugs?” He chuckled nervously as if even his own question made him uncomfortable. “Not that it seems like you do, or that I think you do, I just know that they’re a big deal among a lot of musicians, and in New York. Ibe told me, actually, he ...”

Eiji kept talking, but Ash couldn’t make out what he was actually saying. His mind was heading down a path, a path that reopened old wounds the further along he travelled.   
Aslan Jade Callenreese was seven years old when his life fell into a downward spiral.  
The young boy had come home from school as usual, expecting to be greeted by his big brother, as their parents would still be at their jobs. He walked through the soft grass through the afternoon breeze under the cheery spring sunshine from the bus stop to his house, eager to relay the events of his school day to Griffin, his best friend and brother.  
Aslan arrived at the front door and knocked, as it was locked like usual. He waited. After almost a minute, nobody had came and unlocked it, so the impatient boy knocked again. And again. “Griff! Griff, I’m home!” he called to no answer. Odd. Aslan had deduced that he wasn’t home. A rational child, he didn’t panic, assuming that Griffin had to stay after school for whatever work or activity, or that he was out with a friend. What was odd about his absence was that Griffin was communicative, and usually told his little brother the morning before he set off for school if and why he would not be at home in the afternoon so that the boy was prepared. “Maybe he had to give somebody a ride…” pondered Aslan, digging a door key out from the bottom of his bookbag.  
Aslan took a few steps from the entrance to the living room. He let out a scream, a blood-curdling scream that seemed to stop the gentle breeze in its tracks and scare the sunshine away. The day grew dark. Aslan felt his surroundings slip into the ground, which had morphed into a gaping black void, consuming his childhood and what naivety he had left.   
Griffin was home.  
The next thing he knew, he was in the kitchen, on the phone, trying to hold himself together and act mature as he tried to explain to a 911 operator that his older brother was on the living room floor, unresponsive, but he couldn’t act mature because he wasn’t mature- he was a child and eventually he broke down, crying on the kitchen floor like a child over his stepbrother. The world closed in on him and so did a ring of police officers, prodding him with questions and trying to comfort him. He heard his father arrive, screaming, probably at Griffin, probably at him, but Aslan couldn’t tell, as he had cried to the point where all of his senses became numb, and the next thing he knew, he had woken up to the news that Griffin Callenreese had died of a heroin overdose hours prior.

“I just don’t like drugs, okay? They ruin lives. I may be a no-good street punk, but I’m not stupid. I’ve seen what they can do.”   
Eiji noticed a flare in his temper. “I understand. Next question…”  
Ash felt bad. Eiji was just trying to be nice.   
The interview ended a few questions later. Eiji began gathering his things. Before he got up from the table, however, Ash spoke.  
“Can I ask you a few questions now?”   
Eiji blinked in response. “Huh…?”  
“I’m just curious about you, your life in Japan and so on…” Ash said in a shyer, softer tone. Shorter started to sit up, about to mock him, but he stopped himself and listened.  
“You probably need to get back to your hotel, actually. Sorry.”   
“No, no, it’s okay. Sure. Ask me anything.” Eiji let his bag slump back to the floor, and he folded his hands in front of himself on the table.   
Ash didn’t think Eiji would actually agree to stay. But he was glad he was. He rested his chin on his hand, and stared at the dark-haired boy, who intently stared back at him. “So, is this kind of music popular over in Japan? How did you get into it?”  
“I love music, always have” replied Eiji. There’s a music store in a city a few miles from my home. They sell a lot of imports there. Sometimes when I have spending money I like looking for new things. They had stuff like Television, The Stooges, and the New York Dolls that I discovered and ended up getting really into.”  
Ashes emerald-colored eyes widened. “You can get those records in Japan?”  
“Yeah! Sometimes...the imported section is usually more popular stuff, like uh, disco and regular rock. Punk is my favorite though. It’s just so..energetic, I don’t know a lot of music like it.”   
Ash grinned and leaned back in his chair “I’ll bet you have the best record collection in all of Japan.”   
Eiji blushed and looked at his feet “Thank you” he replied, tucking a loose strand of dark hair behind his left ear.   
“Actually!” he suddenly blurted “There’s a guy who goes to my school who has a radio show some nights. He plays a lot of underground foreign, Western music, most of it rock. He’s the coolest, Ash. I wish we could hang out more so I could find out where he gets his records. They’re from his collection, he always says so. We’re always too busy to cross paths though.” Eiji’s eyes twinkled while talking about the DJ and his music collection. Despite not knowing the guy, Ash felt slightly envious of how Eiji admired him. “Y’know, me ‘n the band have a pretty impressive record collection. You should come by sometime and check it out.”   
“Yeah!” Eiji agreed.   
Ash continued asking questions. “You play any music? Any instruments?”  
Eiji shook his head “I tried to get into in highschool. Had to quit my schools band after freshman year. Track kept me too busy.”  
“I see”   
“Oh, but at my college, they have a good music program, and a lot of instruments that students can borrow and play. Sometimes I check out a guitar and play. Some of the students that actually know how to play give me lessons in exchange for me helping them with their work.”  
Ash smiled at him. “So you play the guitar, huh?”  
“Y-yeah. I’m a bit of a novice though” Eiji stammered, feeling as if Ash was probably ten times better than he’d actually be.   
“Wanna show me? I don’t mind getting my instrument back out.”  
Eiji sat, frozen for a moment. He didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of a guy he had just met. He liked Ash a lot, despite just meeting him. Despite not talking himself up, he feared coming across as all talk. Even with all of his sudden anxieties, a core feeling from within him reassured Eiji that Ash wasn’t the type of person to laugh at or judge him for being somewhat inexperienced.   
It only took seconds for this core feeling to possess him. “Sure, Ash!” he chimed.  
Ash led Eiji to the stage and asked him to sit at its edge while he went and fetched his guitar. Shorter noticed what was going on and moaned. “Oh come on you guys. Some of us are tired” he whined.   
Sitting the instrument in his lap, Eiji began feeling up the neck of the guitar with his right hand and strumming with his left. He fingered a few basic chords, then worked his way up to more advanced ones. Advanced for him, anyways. For Ash, and more seasoned players, they were more intermediate. Still though, Ash was impressed by the talent that he saw. “He’s actually dedicated to this” Ash said to himself. Eiji looked down at the instrument in mild frustration. “I can’t play this fast enough, My fingers keep slipping.” “Progressions are hard” Ash replied, circling him. Eiji nodded, determined to play the song correctly.  
Suddenly he was taken by surprise. Someones long, slender fingers slipped over his as he frantically fretted. Eiji looked up to see Ash leaning over him, his chin rested on Eiji's shoulder. “Try again. I’ll help guide you.” Ash smiled. It was late, and he was tired, but he didn’t mind. There was something about Eiji Okumura that drew him to him, despite just meeting him. “You’re really not bad at this” Ash encouraged, making the dark-haired boy blush.  
“Thanks! I wish I could practice more...” Eiji smiled.   
Ash smiled. “You should be our new guitarist. If...if you were gonna stay here.”  
Eiji leaned in “I could… I like it here. I like playing the guitar, especially with you.”  
Defensively, Ash blushed and replied “No. You’re a student from an entirely different country. You have your own life, a different life, a safer life.”  
“I want this as my life. I want to be part of Banana Fish.”  
”No you don’t. You don’t wanna drop out of school and move to some foreign country just to..to play music…” Ash trailed off. He was beginning to sound like every shitty, stuck up person who had discouraged him from following his music career. “But”, he thought for a moment, “I’m just doing this because I care about Eiji. Because I want him to be safe”  
“How long are you gonna be here again?”  
“All summer. Maybe longer.”  
“Well, while you’re here, you wa-”  
“I can play guitar with you!” Eiji cut him off. “Oh, sorry. I mean, it’s okay with you, right?”  
“Thank you!” Eiji leaned like he was going in for a hug, but stopped himself. “I need to practice more.”  
Ash grabbed a random journal from Eiji's bag, which hadn’t left his shoulder all night, and flipped through it until he came across a blank page. He ripped the page out and scribbled down his address, then handed the paper and the journal to Eiji.   
“Meet me here tomorrow at around 2 or so for practice. We have a guitar for you, so don’t fret over getting your own before then. Now c’mon” he yawned “lets get some rest.” Ash stalked over to the table where Shorter had fallen asleep with his head gently resting on his arms. His peaceful slumber was rudely interrupted by Ash playfully jamming his finger into his ear. “C’mon Sleeping Beauty” the sleepy-eyed blonde taunted “you’d probably be more comfortable dozing back at the apartment. Groggily, Shorter got up. “Is Sing still here? Fuck, don’t tell me I gotta carry my things.” He turned around and waved “Night Eiji. Thanks for comin’”  
“We’ll see him again soon…” Eiji heard Ash say as he approached the door.

To everyone's surprise, Eiji was able to integrate into the band very easily. He came to practice early almost every day, full of enthusiasm, and stayed so late into the night that he just about became a regular resident of the apartment. Shorter, Sing, and Max loved Eiji as their new guitarist and bandmate. They enjoyed his company and what he brought to their music, and they also loved the effect that the new member was having on their frontman. As much as they loved Ash, the Lynx could be closed off and apprehensive at times, to the point where working with him got annoying. Ever since Eiji had joined them though, Ash had been more comfortable and upbeat. More creative too, as he had been writing more music that he presented to the band. Nobody in the band would admit to or ask him, but it was apparent to all of them that Eiji was his muse. Another thing Ash wouldn’t admit, but was apparent to his friends, was that he wanted Eiji to stay and be their guitarist until the day Banana Fish died, if that day ever even came. Ash warned Eiji that he would have to go back to Japan at the end of summer, because New York City was too rough for someone as soft and sweet as Eiji was, and he didn’t want to see Eiji in danger. Eiji was tougher than he came off though, even Ash couldn’t deny that. Yet- he still felt a desire, a need, to protect Eiji from the harshness of this world, his world, one he wouldn’t wish upon anyone else. As much as he didn’t want to lose him, Eiji had to return to Japan someday. Maybe he would start his own band and kick off a movement. He couldn’t stay here though, he wasn’t cut out for the cruelty of the city.

Or so Ash thought.

It was about two months into Eiji’s stay. The band hadn’t got into much danger, mainly because of Ashes extreme caution since Eiji had joined. Rioting and fighting would break out some nights from particular audiences, but it was on a scale small enough to where Eiji didn’t feel threatened. Ash cared more about Eiji’s safety more than Eiji cared about it, it seemed, as he would frantically try to break up or stop anything he perceived as a danger. They played show after show together, coming up with more new music than ever before, Eiji’s departure looming in the backs of their minds where they shoved it. But one night, they were forced to confront it.

A gun went off. Screams echoed throughout the venue as the crowd frantically dispersed. Sing and Shorter took off to backstage, leaving Eiji frozen like a deer in headlights. Shorter tried pulling on his sleeve, but he was paralyzed on the spot, watching their vocalist react to what had just happened. Ash dashed to the back of the stage and lifted up a guitar case. Underneath it was a smaller case, hiding a handgun, ammunition, and various knives. His self defense. Leaning behind a curtain, Ash loaded the weapon and shoved it under his belt. Just in case, he stashed a folded pocket knife in one of his pockets as well. Then, he dashed back to the front of the stage. “Eiji, hide!” he shouted at the confused guitarist, making a sweeping motion to behind the stage. “Everyone!” he added, turning to the audience, “get out!”  
“Who’s this?” a voice behind him asked.  
Hurriedly, Ash turned to see a smirking man with spiky blonde hair on the stage, with Eiji with him. The smirking man held the dark-haired boy in a headlock. His other arm was dropped to the side, with an iron grip on an older, but freshly sharpened looking knife.   
“Ash Lynx! Is this my replacement?”  
“You fucking asshole. Let him go and get out of here.” The Lynx growled, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears.  
“I’m surprised you found somebody new so fast. What did you say his name was? Eij...i” he barked, stumbling over the unfamiliar name. To save face for his clumsiness, the man wrapped his arm tighter around Eijis neck, and began to raise the other.  
“Eiji!” cried Ash in response, drawing his gun from his waist. Ash trusted his aim, the amount of practice that he had amassed over the years from having to defend himself had made him a skilled marksman for his age. Still though, he aimed with caution, only pulling the trigger if he had to and only aiming for one target.   
After hearing Eiji’s name though, the man shoved his hostage to the ground violently, squatting in front of him with a vengeful smirk across his face.The knife that he was clutching dropped to the ground with a soft clang. Ash lowered his weapon in response, but kept it firmly in his grasp still. “It’s a trap” he thought, keeping his attention on the dropped weapon, and the fingers beside it.  
“Do you know who I am?” the squatting man asked Eiji.  
“Um”  
“Well”  
“No”  
“Frederick Arthur. Your friend Ash knows me.”  
Ash wanted to respond, but Arthur came to his words before Ash could think of what to say.  
“You play guitar? For Banana Fish, huh? Y’know, I used to be the guitarist. Now I can’t even play. Wanna see why?”  
Not waiting for a response, he held his right hand out to Eiji. An ugly scar stretched across all of his fingers, a scar ugly and cut perfectly across each finger to where Eiji could only infer it had came from some kind of bladed weapon, like a knife. He had noticed the scarring first when the fingers that it resided on were wrapped around Arthur's knife and he had wondered about their origins.   
Arthur got up, still unarmed. He looked in Ashes direction, holding out his hand “He knows what happened to me.” Eiji looked up in the same direction “Ash…” he mumbled.  
“I know what happened. So do you.” Ash growled. Arthur then looked down at his hostage, who was looking at Ash, wide-eyed and frozen. Arthur called Eijis name, but he still couldn’t get his attention.  
“You better look out, Eiji. This guy’s real scary, real violent. You think I’m bad? You have no idea.”  
“He-”  
Ash cut him off “You’re the one who started all this. No more.” His tone became increasingly more stern and he got in between both men. Ash stood tall, ready to defend Eiji without hesitation. “You couldn’t handle not being the center of attention. You turned on me Arthur.”  
“You tried to kill me. I was defending myself.”  
Arthur let our a cold laugh. “It was a simple disagreement. Just a fight”  
“Shut up. A simple fight doesn’t leave someone fearing for their life.”  
“Oh, were you that scared. You’re not cut out for being the face of a fucking punk band then, getting scared by a fight like that. I’d take your place, but as you can see, I can’t fucking play anymore.”  
Suddenly, he pulled another knife, one about the same size as the one by their feet, from his jacket. Ash knew he had more where that came from, nobody would be wearing a jacket like that in the summer unless they were trying to hide something. Especially if they were somebody like Arthur. He leaned out of the way, refusing to leave the man on the ground behind him in a vulnerable state. Blood spilled from his arm, but it was only a light gash.  
“Ash!” cried Eiji, scrambling to his feet, wanting to help his friend.  
“Eiji, stay down!” he commanded in response, lunging. His knife tore through the thick green jacket and landed right above its owners waist. A small maroonish brown pool stained the jacket where the wound was. Like the gash on Ashes arm, it wasn’t a serious wound. Arthur winced a little as he laughed.   
“There shouldn’t be a Banana Fish without me. Thanks to you, there can’t be. You’re so bad at guitar, you had to get some foreign fucker to replace me. And he still isn’t as good! I have the better vocals too, and you know it. This fucking band doesn’t need you, either of you.”  
“Start another damn band then. You can still sing.” Ash replied.  
“Yeah. And I don’t believe you, when you say you have better vocals. Just listening to you talk makes me wish I couldn’t hear” came another voice, from right behind Ashes feet.   
Ash looked down. “You dumbass, what the fuck do you think you’re doing??” he thought. “Arthur wants to fucking kill you, and he could. You’re gonna set him off.” he thought.  
Indeed, Arthur was provoked. “Shut the hell up. I’m probably miles better than you. Already know I’m better than your little boyfriend here, which is why he got jealous and kicked me out”  
“I don’t believe you at all. Ash isn’t like that” Eiji shot back. “You’re clearly crazy though.”  
Arthur fumed. Within seconds he hit the ground, to the unmistakable sound of a fist pounding against a skull. Someone pounced on him from behind, and pinned him down. It was Sing. Shorter stood behind them, rubbing his right knuckles with a stern expression on his face. Once he noticed that Ash and Eiji were unharmed, his face loosened up. “You guys are unharmed, right?”  
Ash leaned down in front of Arthur. “Get the fuck out of here and leave me, my “little boyfriend”, and the rest of the band alone. If you ever come near us again, I’ll make sure you're never able to even pick up another goddamn guitar again.” He set his boot on the back of Arthurs neck.  
Arthur coughed. “Fine. I’ve decided that I don’t need any of you guys anyways.”  
“Shoulda come to that conclusion sooner” said Ash, with a straight face.  
“I’ll find someone who was as good at playing as I was. We’ll get a record deal before you ever will.”  
“All you care about is money, even still. I’d wish you luck, but you won’t have any trouble finding someone who can play guitar as good as you could.” Ash lifted his foot, which signaled to Sing to let go as well.   
“Just remember, you sought me out. You wanted me to join.”   
“You were my only option, don’t get so cocky. Just because I needed you doesn’t mean I wanted you.” Arthur seemed to not hear this last comment, because he got up and left the bar without saying a word. He didn’t even bother collecting the weapons that he had dropped.  
Ash helped Eiji up. “You’re okay right? You’re not scared?” He felt Eiji for wounds and blood.   
Eiji was fine. “I’m okay. Are you?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Good. Um, don’t tell Ibe about this. He’d never let me return.”   
“Well I won’t tell. Let’s just hope the cops won’t tell either.”  
“Oh yeah. Why aren’t there any policemen here yet. Someone would’ve called them when Arthur fired his gun?”  
“Nah. It’s kind of a rule that we don’t get cops involved. They’re too biased,no matter what goes down and what evidence there is, somebody is gonna get unfairly fucked over by them for something. Gunshots aren’t an uncommon sound here either. They don’t respond most of the time, probably cause they’re scared or because they have more “important” duties that involve stepping on the backs of the disenfranchised to protect those in power”  
“Oh” Eiji didn’t know what to say.  
“Well, I think we’ve lost our audience for the night, C’mon Ei, lets pack it up and head back. If any police do show up, they won’t be on time and they’ll be cranky.”  
The band packed their things, Two police officers did eventually show, late and cranky as Ash had predicted they would be. Ash and the rest of the band were able to convince them that the sound of a gunshot had come from somewhere else, and that they weren’t involved. Or rather, Eiji convinced them. The rest of the band were good liars- they had to be, which kept them out of trouble most of the time. This didn’t make the NYPD any less suspicious of the boys though, it was hard for them not to be because of all the calls they received that involved at least one of them. Eiji, on the other hand, was new to them, and he gave them the impression of pure innocence. After the encounter, the band could finally head home after a long night.

Ash and Eiji laid side-by-side in Ashes bed. Neither could sleep. They knew the other couldn’t sleep, but they didn’t want to say anything, in case the other was trying to get some rest.   
Someone finally spoke up. It was Ash. “Can’t sleep?” He turned on his side, facing Eiji. Eiji turned to him. “It’s because of tonight..” Ash sighed.  
“No. I mean, that’s part of it…”  
“Part of it? Eiji, you could have been killed. It’s okay to be frightened.”  
“It’s not really Arthur who’s scaring me. It’s..you.”  
Ash felt his heart sink “Eiji. You don’t believe Arthur, right?” He felt hot. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead.  
“No way! I guess I should have phrased what I said better. I’m scared of what you’ll think of me. I don’t want you to think that I’m a coward, or that I’m unsuited for this.”  
“Coward?” Ash chuckled. “Eiji, please. You standing up to Arthur, that showed me that you had serious guts.” They laughed. “I just..get really protective over the people I care about, I guess.”  
“I understand, Ash.”  
There was silence and still no sleep between either of them. Ash spoke up again after a few minutes.  
“You ever had a girlfriend, Eiji?”  
“No” Eiji answered, without any shame or hesitation.  
Ash smiled slyly. “What about a boyfriend?”  
“No” Eiji responded, in the same manner that he did the first question.  
“Do you like anyone? Anyone cute back in Japan?”  
Eiji blushed a little. “Why are you asking all these questions?” he laughed.  
“Just wanted to change the mood.”  
“I think I’m gonna stay with you again tomorrow night. I'll probably be too tired to get a cab back to Ibe-sans hotel.”  
“You know I don’t mind.” replied Ash, warmly. “Just as long as you make breakfast. Nothing too weird or Japanese.”  
He received a pillow to the face in response. They laughed.  
“What do you typically eat for breakfast in Japan? Any different from what we have here? Any better? I doubt anything you have can beat soggy, stale corn flakes floating in milk.” Ash joked, referring to the food that he was used to having most mornings. As the night carried on, so did their conversation, as the city grew quieter, their talk grew deeper and more personal.  
“Are you gonna go back to Japan?” Ash asked, in a sleepy tone.  
This again. “You ask that a lot” Eiji said back, in an equally sleepy tone.  
“I know. It’s just because, I want you to be safe”   
“I am safe” said Eiji, confidently. “We went over this.”  
“No you’re not. New York City isn’t a safe place, and I’m not a safe person to be around. You could’ve gotten killed because of me.”  
“But I didn’t because of you. And Shorter. And Sing.”  
“Shorter and Sing know what it’s like to grow up surrounded by danger. They know this place, and how to defend themselves from it. You’re a fucking Japanese college student and track star. You’re more vulnerable, I don’t want you to get hurt.”  
“You sound like my mom” Eiji responded, to which Ash replied with only a slight chuckle. He was serious. Reading the room, Eiji matched his serious tone. “You told me I was part of Banana Fish. I want to stay part of Banana Fish. Please. I want to stay with you.”  
Ash looked away, trying to hide the crimson glow spreading across his face, but Eiji was keen. He saw Ashes red face underneath the strands of his wild blonde hair, and he couldn’t help but break out into a smile. He loved to crack the Lynxes rough demeanor, and he was great at it without even trying.  
“I want you to stay too. Fuck. I really want you to stay with me. You’re the only person who’s ever made me feel like this.”  
“Like what?”  
“Like I’m..like I want to be with you. I want to protect you. I want you to comfort me. I want to play music with you. I want to tour around New York, and eventually the United States, and eventually Japan, the UK, everywhere. Like I’m in love with someone.” He felt a hand slide over his.  
“I’m glad you feel that way, Ash. I want to be with you too.” Eiji snuggled up to Ashes shoulder. He yawned. “I’m getting tired. Let’s talk more about this tomorrow.”  
“Yeah” replied Ash, placing his arm around the sleepy guitarist. “Me too.”  
“Goodnight Ash.”  
“Goodnight Eiji.”  
The two slept throughout the remainder of the night and through the morning hours in each others arms. For both boys, it was the most comfortable they had slept in a long time. In the morning, they discussed their plans for their future over breakfast, which they made together. Once they had nailed down their outline for a plan, the two took a taxi over to the hotel where Ibe resided.  
“I want to stay here in America with Ash and his band.”  
Ibe stared in shock at his assistant. “Are you sure?”  
“Yes!” Eiji replied, eagerly. “Ibe-san, trust me. I’ve never had so much fun doing something, not even when I was still doing track.”  
“Eiji…” Ibe began, softer than before.  
“Ibe, I’ve thought about this since we played out first show together. If something changes, I’ll go back to Izumo, promise. But I don’t think anything will.”  
Ibe sighed. He couldn’t help but smile at his apprentices ambition. “It’s okay with me, just please, be safe Eiji. And tell your parents about this too. They need to know more than I do.” In response, Eiji nodded “Right. I was planning to call them after I told you. Thank you Ibe-san.”

As the day went on and the afternoon began transitioning into the evening, Eiji had finally cemented his future as lead guitarist for Banana Fish. Exhausted from a day of running around, the two laid sprawled across Ashes bed in the Banana Fish apartment, in a bedroom that they now shared.  
“Ready for your first official practice as part of the band?” asked Ash, sitting up a bit and stretching. Eiji sprung up “You know I am!”  
“Good. I’m almost ready. Gotta do something first” Ash replied.  
“What is i-” Ash placed his hand on Eijis shoulder and gently kissed his lips, Eij returned the kiss, shocked for only a second or two.  
“Now I’m ready” Ash smiled reassuringly. Eiji returned a similar smile. “Me too.”   
“Then let’s go fuckin’ play”


End file.
